We’ve lived in Arizona for over 7 years and I have only seen 2 scorpions and 3 cockroaches in that entire time…until last week when we moved further into the desert.
The hubby stepped out onto the patio and felt something swipe the tip of his head and then fall to the ground. It was this disgusting little creature…a.k.a. camel spider. He was pretty quick to get away and actually made it inside the patio door, which was alright with me because it was much easier for the hubby to step on and kill the gross little thing. Seriously thankful he was here to take care of the matter…I might have died.
Night #2 in the new house provided this scary and nasty spider…yup, it’s a black widow. The hubby was out in the garage and noticed a “unique” web in the corner and low and behold a spider with a red hour glass. I cringe. He killed this one too. Again, so glad he was here to take care of it. He’s my hero :)
On to night #3 and the hubby decides to go out and “hunt” scorpions and spray them to get rid of them. Low and behold, he comes across this furry beast…a tarantula. I am seriously wondering if we should flee this place now??? I am inside the house, getting the kids ready for bed, when I hear a scream from outside. I open the front door and there stands the hubby basically frozen with a flashlight pointed at the ground. He tells me he sees a tarantula and I am in disbelief. Unsure of how to get rid of this absolutely horrendous thing, I actually went to bed and let the hubby figure this one out (don’t judge, you would too). The next morning he tells me it crawled up to the yard light (which is about 16 feet directly above your head) and began to eat bugs. He read online that tarantulas are not deadly, but more like a bee sting. Hmmm, I don’t want to find out. Ironically, I bought a can of spider spray earlier that day, which shoots up to 29 feet. He began to spray like a madman. The tarantula then crippled up and fell to its death…and splatted (yes, splatted…guts and all) directly on my welcome mat…lovely.
We then had 2 nights where we (by we, I mean the hubby) saw nothing. Score!? He then went out on Tuesday night and came across this furry little animal…a field mouse?, a pack rat? Lord knows. Awe, cute…not. Kill it. Seriously, just kill it.
In case you were wondering what a scorpion looks like under a UV light, this is it. He killed 5 of these in one night. All in our backyard. Oy vey. I really hope it gets better. It has to, right?!
This is all new territory for us and let me tell you, I’m freaked out! I seriously don’t know what I would do if I encountered any of these if I were by myself or with the kids. I really hope and pray I don’t have to either. I know…wishful thinking. However, most of these lovely disgusting creatures only come out at night. As long as they stay outside, I’m ok with it. The kids and I never go out past dark, but I do worry they will get bit by something if it gets inside the house. My little man is so adventurous and he loves to bring me the “treasures” he finds…especially bugs. Let’s hope these little “adventures” end for us soon…I’d like to focus on other things for this little blog of mine ;-)
OMG!!! I’m not used to creepy crawly insects either! I wouldn’t know what to do so bless your bravery!! Hopefully within the next year or two, these insects will be moving out into the desert more and more as building in the area progresses. I would check to see where the next ER is for the anti-venom as Kristi said not all clinics have it in stock….just in case, especially Liam being the normal Curious George he is. Staying in at night is a good thing. Please be careful!!